Lena Dunham Begins Her Book-Tour Extravaganza in New York

Every week in the Culture List, Vanity Fair editors present a ruthlessly curated selection of parties, art openings, exhibits, and mustn’t-miss events. This week’s list includes a mysterious show curated by Scarlett Johansson’s betrothed, woman of the moment/year/decade Lena Dunham begins her book-tour festival, and a Brazilian photojournalist on a mission to save the world.

If you can get past her legions of teen-girl fans, __Lena Dunham__will be reading from her new memoir and conversing with comedian Amy Schumer. Wristbands will be distributed at 10 A.M. and doors open at five P.M. For literary-star-studded events (Zadie Smith! Miranda July! Mary Karr!) in Boston, Chicago, Iowa City, and more, see the lineup here.

Romain Dauriac, erstwhile Clark editor (and perhaps a tad more famously, __Scarlett Johansson’s__fiancé) has curated a show at Balice Hertling’s project space in New York City. The gallery touts an exploration of “the relationship between the virtual and real, consumerism and ideology, seduction and production.”

French artist Camille Henrot’s 13-minute film Grosse Fatigue—which won the Silver Lion award at the 2013 Venice Biennale—explores the impossibility of universal knowledge with vibrant, fast-paced imagery. There are references to Native American creation myths, for instance, and a manicured hand shoving marbles across a table, paired with the voice of Akwetey Orraca-Tetteh, a slam poet who recites Henrot’s text.

Sebastião Salgado spent eight years traveling the world and photographing its far corners, and his passion to protect these places from whatever environmental atrocities may be coming is evident in the more than 200 black-and-white photos on view at ICP. Extreme, unyielding beauty is the main attraction everywhere from the lake at Wolverine Plateau in Canada to the jungles of Indonesia and the salt lakes of Libya. You’ll leave wanting to both book a safari (an eco-friendly, socially conscious safari) and write to the U.N.